Long-Displaced Greenpoint Residents Celebrate Their Return Home

The four families who fought for almost 5 years to return to their apartments at 202 Franklin Street celebrated their victory at a press conference held in front of the building on Thursday, September 24th. 

Tenants of 202 Franklin Street (clients of Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A) at the September press conference.

The tenants, Ramon and Bienvenida Martinez, Sonia Martinez, Rashid Siddique and Ayesha Latif, and Donna Matadin, were joined by Martha Vargas, Rolando Guzman and other tenant organizers from St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corp., their lawyer Joanne Koslofsky from Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A ("Brooklyn A," a program of Legal Services NYC), as well as tenants from nearby 172 North 8th Street who are fighting a similar battle right now.

Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, who vocally supported the tenants in their fight to return and in whose district both buildings are located, was also at the celebration.

In June 2004, a small fire forced the 202 Franklin tenants out of their long-term apartments for what was expected to be a couple of weeks to allow their landlord to make the minor repairs needed to vacate the City's vacate order. However, the hot market in the rapidly gentrifying area immediately adjoining the massive luxury housing development planned for the re-zoned riverfront led that landlord and two that followed to resist putting the tenants back into the building. At one point, the tenants were offered large sums of money not to come back, but simply could not abandon their long-term home and neighborhood.

A vacant building- indeed, a vacant lot- was worth much, much more than an occupied Rent Stabilized building, and Vacancy Decontrol, offered major incentives to keep the old tenants out. Despite the emotional and economic costs of their "temporary" dislocation, the tenants and the lawyers fought in court, with the support of the City's Housing lawyers, and demonstrated in the streets to attract press and public attention to their struggle. Finally the third new building owner gave in, complied with the pending court orders and finalized the repairs. The tenants of 202 Franklin are now back in their apartments.

The struggle goes on for the residents of 172 North 8th Street, who were ousted from their building in June due to "illegal excavation work" being done by their landlord which resulted in a temporary City vacate order. They too are battling back against their landlord who has been resisting actions that would allow them back into their homes. The 172 North 8th tenants are being represented by Roberto Marrero of Brooklyn A.  

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